NASA's observatory clicked this smiley on our local star

This smiley is actually made of the 'Sun Spots'.

These spots are regions with comparatively low temperatures than surrounding areas

The dark centre of a spot is called the umbra; the outer, lighter ring is the penumbra. 

Sunspots are areas where the magnetic field is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth's, much higher than anywhere else on the Sun 

Because of the strong magnetic field,  the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases.  This in turn lowers the temperature relative to its surroundings 

Sunspots tend to occur in pairs that have magnetic fields pointing in opposite directions 

Sunspots increase and decrease through an average cycle of 11 years.  Dating back to 1749, we have experienced 23 full solar cycles 

We are now well into the 24th cycle.